Adopting a child out of foster care can be the most rewarding experience of a lifetime, for your family and your new child.

Almost anyone can adopt. You don’t have to be married, you don’t have to make a lot of money. You just need to be willing to love and provide for a child in need. Legal adoption means the child becomes a member of your family and is no longer a part of the foster care system. As an adoptive parent, you make all decisions for your adopted child, just as you would for biological children.

Adoptive parents go through the same training as foster parents but are ready to be matched with adoptable children once they are approved. Usually, the process takes about a year, from the time a parent begins training classes to a final adoption. It is a thorough, well-vetted process that ensures the most desirable outcome for parents and children alike.

There is almost no cost to adopt a foster child. The state of Florida will reimburse you up to $1,000 in adoption costs, such as attorney fees, and you are also eligible for a federal tax credit in the year that you adopt.

Children who are adopted from the foster care system are eligible for several benefits, even after their adoption is finalized. Some of these benefits include:

Tuition and fee exemption for any Florida public state university, public Florida College System institution or public postsecondary career and technical program. The waiver is valid until the adoptee’s 28th birthday.